Although she was respected by critics both then and now, one could reasonably argue that Jane Austen's works are the equivalent of comfort food. By this I mean that there is a commonality throughout her works that, though the plot may be distinctive, one can be reasonably certain of certain elements dominating the proceedings: Headstrong and intelligent female protagonists, class warfare, brooding but handsome male counterparts, palatial estates, and happy endings that end in marriage. There's nothing wrong with this at all, but it does peak one's interest to discover that Austen's personal favorite work happens to have some of the darkest material to see from her.
Mansfield Park is the estate of Sir Thomas Bertram (Harold Pinter), who has decided to take in his wife's niece, Fanny (Hannah Taylor-Gordon) who has lived a very poor life with her parents and siblings. She grows up into a very fetching young woman (Frances O'Connor) of uncommon intelligence. Sir Thomas takes it upon himself to find her a husband, though his choice is not met with her approval as she has eyes for his son Edmund (Jonny Lee Miller), who she has come to know quite well while living there. At this revelation, he turns her back out of his home into the squalid life of her childhood, but you'd be a fool to think the story ends there.
As I said, Austen proclaimed this to be her favorite work. Although we can only guess as to why, one cannot help but be struck at how much darker this story is compared to her others. Though there are always consequences to the actions of characters in her stories, the class warfare that is engaged in is often portrayed as a parlor game writ large. Feelings may get hurt, but nothing more. Mansfield Park, on the other hand, is determined to make those consequences real for their characters.
In 1995's Sense & Sensibility, the Dashwood sisters are ejected from the estate they have lived on for so long and forced to live in a cottage. We get the point that it's a step down and the quarters can be somewhat cramped, but compared to Fanny's squalid accommodations at her parent's home, it's downright luxury (especially when the Dashwoods retain their servants). Also, in the same year's Pride & Prejudice, there are scenes where young Lydia runs away with a suitor of ill intentions and endangers the family name. The consequences for this action are huge, yet the scenes that we are shown of her and this cad are never as insidiously portrayed as they could be. In Mansfield Park, there is a scene where a young married woman sleeps with another man and is caught in the act. We are not shown anything graphic (this is still Austen, after all), but such imagery is not typical of her other adaptations. The story continues to take dark turns in this way, and we actually fear for our protagonist in a way that we do not fear for the Bennet and the Dashwood sisters.
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Article comments
1 - Rodney Welch
Nice review -- but the words "comfort food" make me puke in any context, especially when applied to the works of a genius.
2 - Amy P
I fear that Jane Austen's works cannot be characterized so easily. Only two (out of eight in her completed novels) Austen heroines-Marianne Dashwood and Emma Woodhouse-could possibly be described as headstrong, and Fanny Price is behind only Jane Bennet in being the least likely of the rest to fit that description. "Brooding but handsome male counterparts" only describes Mr. Darcy; indeed, several of her heroes are specifically described as not being handsome and several are described as charming and personable. The term "class distinctions" seems more appropriate than "class warfare", and while we do see a bit of this when Emma tries to elevate Harriet and more in Persuasion regarding British Naval officers, in every book except "Emma" the primary issue is money (or the lack thereof); in "Emma" the money issue is confined to a subplot. With the exception of Mr Bingley and possibly Captain Wentworth, every hero/heroine match is between gentlemen and gentlewomen-people of the same class.
As you have acknowledged, many Jane Austen fans loathe this adaptation. However, this is not because of filming techniques or anything so insignificant. (If it were, the most recent Persuasion would be despised also, which it certainly isn't!) It is because the movie is not true to the spirit of the book or even to important facets of people's characters. Fanny in particular is virtually unrecognizable, and as she is the protagonist this is no small matter. It was advertised as "the story Jane Austen loved best", which indeed "Mansfield Park" was. Unfortunately, that is not the story they filmed. If it had been billed as "a fresh look" or anything that would have warned us that it wasn't faithful to the book perhaps there wouldn't have been such a backlash. Maybe. ;) Frankly, Patricia Rozema only threw gasoline on the flames of discontent when she got nasty about Austen fans who didn't like the movie. She and Harvey Weinstein have both said that they don't like the book. One wonders why they wanted to film it and wishes that they had left it to someone who did like it.